We’re up and sprinting and fast heading towards the quarter-finals! Since 2020, we’ve known how the Rugby World Cup Pools for the 2023 event would look. Since then, we’ve had the final qualifiers and team expulsions, the replacements and rejigs. But we’re in the thick of the action now in France.

Deciding the World Cup pools hasn’t always been plain sailing. For example, Romania replaced Spain in Pool B after the latter’s appeal against their disqualification was dismissed in June 2022. Spain fielded an ineligible player during qualification. And with the world order flipped on it’s head since the draw was made a few years ago, some have asked: How would the Rugby World Cup pools look based on pre-tournament rankings?

Related: Rugby World Cup fixtures

Here are the Rugby World Cup Pools

Pool A

Pool B

Pool C

Pool D

How the Rugby World Cup pools go into the knockouts

The initial draw for the pools for RWC 2023 (Getty Images)

The knockout stages will follow the same format as previous years, with teams from Pools A and B then Pools C and D meeting in the quarter-finals. So Wales and England could meet in the last eight, for example.

QF1 – Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D
QF2 – Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A
QF3 – Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C
QF4 – Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B

Then the semi-finals will be the Winner of QF1 v Winner QF2 and the Winner QF3 v Winner QF4.

France 2023 will kick off on Friday 8 September 2023 and the final will take place on 21 October 2023. The official ticket resale platform is available via tickets.rugbyworldcup.com

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